Yorkshire Wolds

Yorkshire Wolds
Hills
A winter view across the Yorkshire Wolds
Country	England
State	United Kingdom
Region	Northern England
District	East Riding of Yorkshire
The location of the Yorkshire Wolds in Northern England

Coordinates: 54°00′22″N 0°26′24″W / 54.006°N 0.440°W / 54.006; -0.440

The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.

On the western edge the Wolds rise to an escarpment which then drops sharply to the Vale of York. The highest point on the escarpment is Bishop Wilton Wold (also known as Garrowby Hill), which is 807 feet (246 m) above sea level. To the north, on the other side of the Vale of Pickering, lie the North York Moors, and to the east the hills flatten into the plain of Holderness.

The largest town in the Wolds is Driffield, with other places including Pocklington, Thixendale and Kilham, the original capital of the Wolds. The highest village on the Yorkshire Wolds is Fridaythorpe at 550 feet (170 m) above sea level.

The hills are formed from chalk, and make an arc from the Humber estuary west of Hull up to the North Sea coast between Bridlington and Scarborough. Here they rise up to form cliffs, most notably at Flamborough, Bempton Cliffs and Filey; Flamborough Headland is designated a Heritage Coast. On the other side of the Humber, the chalk formations continue as the Lincolnshire Wolds; in fact, one can view the Humber as cutting through a single formation (see also Humber Gap). The Humber Bridge was built at the point due to its geological stability.